Science and Faith
by cgal120
Summary: At the end of another meeting Alfred and Arthur debate over science and faith, leading to a very distraught Arthur running out into a torrential storm. Can the hero put aside his views on the world and find his lost love? Songfic Happy Birthday Charlotte!


_**Science and Faith**_

First impressions last for a while. It takes a fair few meetings to find the true person underneath. Often, because someone has created a poor first impression of themselves, no one ever really gets to see the real person underneath. Some people, however, are just naturally the way their first impression implied. In many cases, the argument of nature versus nurture is thrown into play. Is the way this person behaves due to the influences of the person who raised them, or were they born to act this way? Home environment or destiny?

This was the debate going on in the head of Arthur Kirkland.

He was stuck in yet another tedious meeting, willing the clock to speed up or that at least one of the other nations had something interesting to present. Some of the 'issues' weren't even important! So, Italy was having a shortage of pasta and Spain's tomatoes weren't as ripe as they usually were. Even some of the American news was irrelevant. Who cared if Justin Bieber had had a hair cut? What did that matter compared to some of the events that were happening across the world? Russia was still aching from the airport incident, Egypt was constantly taking medicine for migraines because of the uproar of the people in his country, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and what of poor Libya? How were those events less important than the crap that they had been discussing? Arthur sighed, thankful that his speech was one of the first to happen. He'd said his piece on the Irish bail out, thanking the supporting countries in Europe for helping and then sat down.

Nothing more, nothing less.

The meeting that they were attending this month was being held in the United States of America, meaning they had the energetic yet clueless Alfred F Jones as their host. Arthur watched him as he stood up and asked for each presentation, for once helping to keep the meeting running smoothly. It was strange though, Alfred was usually one to fall asleep during these things. Arthur concluded that it must have been because they were in his country and he didn't want anyone to think less of him. Arthur smiled a little; the boy could be so adorable sometimes. That was one of the things he loved about him. Yes, Arthur Kirkland loved Alfred F Jones. That was common knowledge nowadays. They'd been together romantically for a year, but the feelings had started to develop when they'd agreed the "Special Relationship". It was a little strange in the beginning, considering all that they had been through, but they loved and protected each other. They knew each other's quirks, fears, sensitive spots, secrets… However, there were times when Arthur couldn't tell which Alfred he saw was the true man he loved. He loved him unconditionally, but Alfred seemed to have two different personas.

The one that most people saw, and commonly assume to be Alfred's true self, was the bumbling idiot with the hero obsession. Alfred was often loud mouthed and childish, his insatiable need for attention leading to many fights. People assumed because of his constant diet of hamburgers, that he was obese. But, Arthur knew differently. Alfred was actually really toned. His skin was clear, smooth and tanned, stretching out over his muscles in a way that always made Arthur stare when he walked around shirtless. Alfred often came across as obnoxious because of his rambunctious nature, but not many people knew that he had a sweet side, that he was a romanticist. It was all these traits that had Arthur confused. Some of the traits he had recognized from himself, having raised him for most of his existence. However, some of them he had no clue as to where he picked them up.

The Brit sighed and rest his head on his hand. They only had fifteen minutes until the end of the meeting, and, from the looks of it, the remaining countries left to present their pieces knew that they had tedious subjects as well. Seeing this, Arthur decided to do some thinking about why Alfred was so diverse in his personality. He didn't raise him to do some things, and yet he still behaved in strange ways.

Maybe comparing their childhoods would help?

There were many differences between the way Arthur grew up and the way Alfred grew up. If you were to look at a picture of their childhoods next to each other, there would be a very distinct line separating them.

Arthur's childhood was dark. He grew up with the tyranny of four older siblings (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland). Nobody seemed to give him a break in life. It was either constant abuse from Scotland, teasing from Wales, or attacks from Ireland. Then there was France. France never failed in an attempt to tease Arthur through his childhood. He ruled over him with a mocking pleasure; it was as though he enjoyed nothing more than to kick Arthur around. However, Arthur kept strong. He had his faith. He kept that faith strong inside him. Though being chosen from his siblings to be the embodiment of not only England but the entire United Kingdom, many different religions were at conflict in his head. Was he Catholic, Protestant, Christian, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Islamic, Hindi, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Pagan, Bahá'í, or (strange as it may seem) Jedi? So many cultures were now a part of the United Kingdom that his head often felt as though it was going to burst. However, Arthur kept a hold of the one belief in his head that was entirely his own; no matter what happened, he could handle it.

Eventually, it came to the time when Arthur and Francis were in the New World. Both wished to claim the land as their own, not knowing that it was actually a developing country like them. That was what made Arthur so determined to become Alfred's guardian and older brother. He knew all too well the torment from his own siblings, and still had the scars (mentally and physically) from his many wars against France. He never wanted somebody else to go through that if it could be helped, and he knew that the small boy before him would undoubtedly be tormented by France if he was given reign over him. So, when he successfully claimed America as a British colony he tried to make the boys life as easy as he could. He took care of any monetary issues, fed him, bathed him, and gave him clothes and a culture that he hoped would develop him into a strong person. Arthur made sure that Alfred's childhood was warm and bright compared to his own cold and dark upbringing. However, the boy developed much faster than Arthur had ever expected him to. Before he knew it, the boy towered over him and was able to fight him off in any situation. He hated having to go to the boy with news of more taxes and punishments. He hated seeing the pain in the boys piercing blue eyes. Those eyes. They always seemed to see straight through him, scanning him to try and find out if this was some cruel joke. It was not though. Alfred wanted to grow up and develop his culture into more than just the remnants of something that had plagued Arthur for his entire life. He wanted to find out more about the universe. Surely, there was more beyond the sky! There had to be! The stars glittering across the night sky had to be at the furthest points in the heavens. And the birds! How could they fly so feather light when he could not! He wanted to fly! He wanted to touch the stars! He _would_ do all of those things. Spending great deals of his time on his own, or with the eccentric people of his nation, he started to grow a large belief in the world of Science. It seemed to make more sense, had more evidence behind it, than the religions that seemed to be so important in Arthur's eyes. But if he was going to achieve these large dreams, he needed freedom. He needed to be independent.

On that day, when Arthur stared into those same baby blue eyes, he knew that he had lost any control. Unable to shoot the boy, he collapsed into the mud, the heavy rain draining down his face along with his own salty tears. Why…

Arthur blinked, feeling the tears stinging his eyes as he remembered those times. He wiped his eyes of the tears, hoping that they could represent his own memories and that wiping them would get rid of them. However, he kept strong still. His faith rose into his chest and he took a deep breath.

He could handle it.

But, looking up at Alfred as he handed the floor over to the final nation, Arthur couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the boy's new beliefs. Whenever they had a conversation about it, Alfred would always try to break love to a science. He did so on that day. In that act of pure defiance, he broke his heart. He watched as the American concluded the meeting and let the other nations leave.

After the meeting let out, Arthur took his time in packing his stuff away. He really had no interest in speaking to anyone. Well, anyone other than Alfred. Soon enough, it was only them in the room and Alfred wandered over to him. The taller man wrapped his arms around his waist, softly pulling him against his chest.

"So, how did I do?" asked Alfred.

"With the meeting?" Arthur inquired. "You did great. Germany didn't shout so even he must have thought it was running smoothly for once."

"Yeah, but I wanna know what _you_ thought!"

"I was very proud of you," Arthur said, turning in the American's arms and hugging him.

"I was so scared I would screw up," Alfred said. "I'd even got the top scientists to help me prepare the non-celebrity part."

"I had complete faith in you," Arthur smiled.

"Faith is only subjective though," the American said.

"But without faith, what is there to believe in?"

And thus began their debate. Both parties argued fiercely, but as Alfred pulled apart Arthur's theories, he watched him growing weary.

"Science has fact behind it," Alfred stated. "Faith is just myths!"

It was now that Arthur lost his patience. He was fine with the little debates or having heavy conversations about the furthest constellations of their souls, but when Alfred tried to push his beliefs onto the smaller nation he lost his head. He didn't like having someone, anyone, trying to impose their beliefs onto him. Yes, he understood that people were just trying to find some meaning in the things that they believe in, but often it got to him. It made his head swim. He especially didn't like it when Alfred did things like pushing evolution as the obvious conclusion of the start or saying love was an illusion of a hopeless heart for his own amusement.

That's when he said something that just knocked him dead.

"You won't find faith or hope down a telescope," Arthur said, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "You won't find heart and soul in the stars! You can break everything down to chemicals… But you can't explain a love like ours…"

With that said he grabbed his briefcase and ran from the room, leaving a very startled American in his wake. He ran out of the meeting place and looked around the city from where he was stood. He was still not used to the ways of the American city, so just followed wherever his feet took him. Why couldn't Alfred see how much his faith was shaken when he behaved like that? He had raised him to be respectful to other people, yet the American blatantly dismissed all of Arthur's views. It was as though he wouldn't take anything that didn't interest him in some way into consideration. Arthur really was unaware of where he was going, and was oblivious to the fact that it was raining. He had walked out into one of America's torrential storms and wasn't even bothered. When he next looked up, he was soaked to the skin and lost in a very remote area. He looked around, now a little nervous that he had no where to go and no shelter. He didn't know which direction he had come from so had no clue how to get to Alfred's house. Sighing, he sat on the damp grass and leaned against a tree. He shivered as the cold wind of the storm picked up, and he huddled up into himself trying to keep warm. He couldn't call the American because his phone had died, so he looked up at the black sky and begged.

"Please… I have faith he will find me…"

_**~~Science and Faith~~**_

Alfred walked out of the meeting building, his famous leather jacket protecting him from the rain. His hair was soaked in an instant, and his glasses fogged up a little. He sighed and looked around. What was Arthur's problem? They had argued before about science and faith, but he had never said anything quite like that. He needed to find him and make it all better, but he had no clue as to where he would be. The Englishman had stayed at his house plenty of times, so he decided to head there first to see if he was sat inside with a cup of tea.

Once he reached his front door he noticed that none of the lights were on inside and that everything was just as the pair had left it before going to the meeting. This couldn't be good. He checked inside anyway and found that Arthur indeed was not inside.

"Where is he?" the American said aloud.

Without a second thought, he left his house and locked the door. He walked down the stairs of the front porch and then head back along the streets in a desperate search for his British lover. However, he had no idea where to start. He pulled out his phone and attempted to phone the Brit, but the line was dead. Alfred groaned. If he couldn't find him with technology then…

He lifted his head up and stared at the sky.

"Please! I need to find him!"

Lightning flashed across the sky, making the American flinch. However, when he looked at the trees he had been walking by he saw the highlight form of a small person against the roots of the tree. Alfred walked over to the hesitantly, then sped up his pace as he realised that it was Arthur.

"Arthur!" cried the American, kneeling in the mud next to the Brit. When he didn't get a response, he held Arthur's face and saw he was unconscious. "Arthur?" Once more he didn't receive a response so he picked up the unconscious Brit and carried him back through the streets to his home.

_**~~Science and Faith~~**_

When Alfred got them home, he hurried up to his bedroom and stripped Arthur of his damp clothing and put him in his warm pyjamas. He dried his hair and then put him into bed. Even under the covers, the unconscious Brit was shivering madly so Alfred (having dried and changed himself) climbed into bed with him. Arthur subconsciously moved closer to him, and Alfred wrapped his arms around him gently, sharing his body heat. Alfred kissed his head, Arthur nuzzling his side.

"I am so sorry, Arthur," whispered the American. "So, so sorry… I know now, it's the way we feel… Yeah, this is real…"

He looked out of his window at the still raging storm, noticing that although it was worse than before, there was no lightning.

It was around lunchtime the next day when Arthur finally woke up. Alfred was down in the kitchen, so he woke up nervous and on edge as he had no clue as to why he was in someone's bedroom when he remembered falling asleep in a storm. Who's room was he in anyway? He looked around and saw some things that he thought were familiar. Then he heard the sounds of someone coming upstairs, so stayed laid back against the pillows. From the way he was feeling he was certain he had a fever as he felt very hot and his breathing was odd and disjointed. He looked over to the door wearily as it opened, revealing a worried American.

Arthur smiled.

He was right. He knew Alfred would find him!

"A-Alfred?"

"Oh, thank God!" sighed the American, hurrying over to the bed.

"What?"

"I was scared that you wouldn't wake up."

Arthur smiled at him softly. "Soppy sod… I'm fine."

Alfred sat on the bed and looked at him. He looked far from fine with his flushed face and beads of sweat. He looked tired out and ill and… Alfred sighed. He knew that Arthur got over colds and fevers fairly quickly, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Arthur sat up a little and made Alfred move next to him on the bed. He leant against him and Alfred wrapped his arms around him.

"I knew that you would find me," Arthur muttered.

"It was weird," Alfred said.

"What was?"

"When I was looking for you. The first place I went was back home because I assumed you would remember the way. But when I found you weren't there, I head straight back out into the storm. I don't know how long I was walking around for but I tried your phone and the line was dead. You know what I did?"

"What did you do?"

"I looked at the sky and yelled for help."

Arthur looked up him. He was stunned by what the American had just told him. Alfred, the boy who defied faith, had asked for help from the sky.

"As soon as I yelled a flash of lightning happened. It lit everything and I saw you slumped against a tree. You know the weirdest part?"

"What's that then?"

"There was no more lightning. The storm got worse, but it never flashed. Not once."

They looked at each other for a moment. That was extremely odd. Was it just a random part of the storm or did something actually answer Alfred's plea?

_**~~Science and Faith~~**_

A few days later, Arthur was back to full health and sat in the living room of the American's house. Alfred came in a little while later and sat next to him. Arthur curled up against his side and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer. Alfred kissed the top of his head.

"Hey Arthur?"

"Hmmm?"

"I never got to say before," Alfred said. "I get what you meant now."

"What?"

"What you said before."

"What did I say?"

"You won't find faith or hope down a telescope, you won't find heart and soul in the stars, you can break everything down to chemicals… But you can't explain a love like ours…"

"Oh… That…" Arthur said. "Sorry for shouting at you."

"I don't mind," Alfred smiled. "But, like I said, I understand it now. I had the wrong approach. Yes, science explains most things but if people didn't have faith in themselves or others then those discoveries would never have been made. I guess, it's the way we feel."

"Yeah, this is real," Arthur smiled.

Alfred leaned down and kissed him softly. Arthur, however, pulled away.

"What?" asked the American.

"You did your little piece, now it's my turn!"

"What?" Alfred repeated.

"There is one piece of science that I enjoy a lot," Arthur winked, getting onto Alfred's lap. He put his legs on either side of the American and held his face. Alfred smiled at him and held his hips. Arthur kissed him again, deeper this time tracing his tongue over the American's mouth and gaining access instantly. Their tongues battled for dominance and Alfred easily overpowered Arthur. However, the Brit still had some control, grinding down so the groins rubbed together, drawing moans of pleasure from both men. Alfred picked Arthur up, not stopping the kiss. Arthur wrapped his legs around Alfred's waist and his arms around his neck, pulling him flush against the American as he carried him upstairs. Before long, they were in the bedroom hurriedly pulling off each others clothes. They fell backwards onto the bed, Alfred on top of Arthur. The kissing began once more, Arthur threading his fingers into Alfred's hair. They broke away panting.

"Al-fred…"

"Arthur…" he placed his fingers near Arthur's mouth but the smaller man didn't take them.

"No… Al… I need you… Now…"

"But…"

"No! Now! Please!"

Alfred didn't want to hurt Arthur, but went along with the request. He lifted one of Arthur's legs over his shoulder, then proceeded to enter him slowly. They both groaned, Arthur wincing at the filling sensation. He urged Alfred to move, and soon they were creating a rhythm of movement. Arthur moaned Alfred's name like a mantra, his breath coming out in pants. Alfred took hold of Arthur's member and started to pump it, teasing around the head with his thumb as he continued to thrust into the smaller nation.

"AH… OH GOD ALFRED~!"

Alfred assumed he'd hit Arthur prostate so continued to aim in the direction, sending shockwave upon shockwave of pleasure through the smaller blonde's body. His moans and cries were coming out at top volume and encouraged the American to speed up his pace. After a little while, they both came and stared at each other, panting. They both smiled, and Alfred pulled out and flopped onto the bed next to Arthur.

"I agree," Alfred smiled. "That was very enjoyable!"

"And I had faith that you would…"

_**Notes:**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this little one shot I have been working on. It would be the reason that one chapter of The Heart Never Lies was late. But I feel that it was worth it. In a moment, if you continue to read, you will see a special note with character names in it. Some of it won't make sense, except to the person it is aimed at so don't worry if it seems confusing. Thank you for reading and if you want check out the song this was based on; it's by The Script and is awesome! Reviews are love, and please check out my other stories!**_

_**Special Note:**_

_**Canada,**_

_**Happy 16**__**th**__** Birthday! I hope you enjoyed the little surprise I created for you! I was inspired during that English lesson, and spent quite sometime planning it out! You, like Germany, are my best friend, my sister. You got me in Hetalia (curse you for this addiction!) and hooked me onto this song and pairing. You've read all my stories on Hetalia, helped me with ideas and our inside jokes at school make the day just that little bit brighter. Your friendship is something I'll always cherish, and the support you give is something I'll never be able to replace. Have fun on your special day!**_

_**Romano**_


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